Strategize Your Summer

To be eligible for federal financial aid, summer enrollment status is defined as:

Undergraduate students:

• Full-time = 12 credit hours
• Half-time = 6 credit hours

Graduate students:

• Full-time = 6 credit hours
• Half-time = 3 credit hours

Please review the LSU Enrollment Status Policy for more information. 

• You are encouraged to complete a 2024-25 FAFSA by June 1st but as soon after October 1, 2023 as possible. 
• You must be making Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP).
• You need to have enrolled in courses for the summer before you can be eligible.

• If you are eligible to receive a federal Pell Grant based on the information provided in your FAFSA, you may be eligible to receive Pell Grant funds during the summer term. 
• You must have been enrolled in at least 6 credit hours in Spring 2024 to qualify for summer funding. 
• There is no minimum number of hours to register for the summer to qualify for funding. 
• Pell Grant recipients will be automatically awarded and accepted based on summer enrollment. 

So register for courses today to qualify for aid!

All undergraduate students:

• You must be enrolled in a minimum of 6 credit hours to qualify. 

All graduate students:

• You must be enrolled in a minimum of 3 credit hours to qualify. 

Summer financial aid will not be awarded until you register for summer classes.

So register for courses today to qualify for aid!

To learn more about federal student loans, visit the USDoE's Federal Student Aid website or schedule an appointment with an LSU Financial Aid counselor.

You must meet one of the following to qualify for TOPS for the summer:

• earned 60 hours of college credit prior to the summer,
• the summer session is required in your degree program for graduation and you enroll full-time, 
• you will satisfy your final graduation requirements for your degree in the summer, or
• the courses taken during the summer are required for your degree and are only offered in the summer.
• AND you must be enrolled in at least 12 credit hours (full-time). 

TOPS will not pay for the summer immediately following high school graduation. For TOPS to pay for a summer session, you must have been enrolled as a full-time student in a term prior to the summer session.

It is important to note that a TOPS payment for a Qualified Summer Session will expend one full semester of TOPS eligibility.

If you have TOPS Performance or Honors awards and enroll in the summer session, you will receive your stipends.

*TOPS funding for the summer is based on LA Legislature appropriations for the summer and is not guaranteed. 

All undergraduate students:

• must be enrolled in a minimum of 6 credit hours to qualify for work study in the summer. 
• Summer financial aid will not be awarded until you register for summer classes.

So register for courses today to qualify for aid!

Check out the LSU Work Study page for more information and on-campus job opportunities. 

For more information on receiving financial aid and scholarships, please visit the Office of Financial Aid’s website.

If you have any questions, call 225-578-3103 or email financialaid@lsu.edu.

If you are a current student, you can make an appointment with a Financial Aid counselor via the Navigate platform on the web or via the mobile app.